Performance of an aerodynamic structure on an aircraft is determined by the interaction of the structures with the surrounding air as the aircraft flies. These interactions can lead to laminar flow of the passing air, turbulent flow, or a combination of the two. The interactions may also be responsible for lift forces required for flight and drag forces.
Aerodynamic surfaces of aircraft are designed to manipulate and/or control the interactions of the surfaces with the surrounding air. For example, the shape of an airplane wing is designed to make the speed of airflow above the wing different from the speed of airflow below the wing, thereby creating lift. Some aerodynamic surfaces can change their shape during flight by extending flaps, activating ailerons, moving rudders, or other such mechanical devices, thereby altering the interaction of the surface with the passing air.
A non-mechanical method of altering airflow over an aerodynamic surface of an aircraft involves use of active flow control plasma sources, for example dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) devices, to create a layer of plasma proximate the aerodynamic surface as the aircraft flies. The layer of plasma typically has a lower pressure than the layer of passing air adjacent to the plasma. This lower pressure may draw the passing air towards the aerodynamic surface more strongly than if the DBD device were omitted.
The utility of DBD devices has been shown in laboratory settings. However, the materials used in the laboratory do not lend themselves to implementation on an aircraft. For example, many DBD devices are constructed from various layers of flexible tape applied sequentially to an existing aerodynamic surface of a laboratory model. These tape structures have three drawbacks. First, they are not robust and may break down prematurely in the presence of the plasma they create. Second, they are not scalable and would be difficult to apply to a full-size aircraft. Third, applying additional structure to an existing aircraft may adversely affect the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft.